


The Festival

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, date fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 02:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17377688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For the Week of Collab 2





	The Festival

“So…” Rowan fixes the buttons on his shirt, by what appeared to be the 100th time. “Let me get this straight… Do I really, REALLY need to win all of the toy's for her?”

“For the love of- YES!” Anon, looking like he was about to explode, smacks the black board he was using to detail his elaborated plan.

“Hey Anon! Can I get more of this ‘soda’ thingy?” Said Barnaby, across the messy room, shaking his now empty soda bottle.

“Just a minute, Barns.” He sighs and sits on the floor, opening a bit of a path among the clothes and other utensils that were splattered there. If his mum saw his bedroom so messy, especially when he invited his friends to spend the summer with him, he would probably lose his head. 

“Anon, I really appreciate the effort, really.” Rowan sits in front of him, trying to calm his best friend (but failing miserably). “But, hey, it’s just a date! Not something to get so worked up about.”

Anon then jumps from the floor and grab Rowan by his shoulders, his eyes gleaming like a mad man. “Just a DATE? JUST A BLOODY DATE? ROWAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA, ANY.BLOODY.CARCASS.OF.A.RETARDED.DRAGON IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS TO SET UP THIS DATE FOR YOU?”

“I-I do man, really! B-but-“ 

“NO BUTS MISTER KANNA!” He then goes back to the black board, using his wand as a mix between a pointer and a chalk. “As I said before! This is probably the most important moment in your life, you buffoon! You’re going into a date, on the Merlin Festival nonetheless! And need I remind you that the girl that you’re taking with you is PENNY.HAYWOOD?!”

“Alright, alright! I get it.” Rowan adjusts his glasses, slightly embarrassed by the reminder that he was going into a date with the infamous Penny Haywood (who is often considered the prettiest girl in all of Hogwarts). She was also Rowan’s long time crush, as both Anon and Barnaby where well aware, much for his dismay. 

“Oh, now you get it, huh?!” The usually calm and collected Ravenclaw student that was Anon has been replaced, on the last few hours, by this ravaging, over planning beast that was dead set in making their date the most perfect one possible.

Flashes of the last few weeks in Hogwarts before the summer break appeared before Rowan, with him remembering every single time that Anon tried to ask Penny on a date for him (because he was too much of a chum to do it himself, as Barnaby put it), just to be foiled by Merula, Tulip and (surprisingly) Clumsy. It truly was almost a miracle that he managed to actually do it, now that he thinks about it.

“Yeah, I get it!” Rowan said, trying to sound at least a bit more enthusiastic. “It just…”

“Just WHAT?” He could clearly see a vein almost popping in Anon’s neck.

“I… I’m just a bit worried, you know? What if… what if she doesn’t appear or…or I fluck it all up? I know you took so much effort into planning all of this, I don’t want it all to go to waste!”

Anon expressions softened a bit, as he gives him a small smile and places his hands on his shoulders, this calm without shaking him violently. 

“Rowan, how old are you?”

“Huh?” Taken aback by the sudden change in question and tone of his voice, Rowan flinched a little, almost falling among the zone of uncharted clothes and utensils on the floor.

“I asked, how old are you?” Anon kept his hands firmly on Rowan’s shoulder.

“I’m… I’m 15, same age as you.”

“In which year are we in Hogwarts, Rowan?”

“W-we just finished our fourth year, we are going to be fifth years soon…”

“Good, good. And how many BLOODY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN IN LOVE WITH PENNY?”

“S-since first year!”

“ALRIGHT! SINCE THE FIRST YEAR! THEN LISTEN TO ME YOU SOUNDREL, THIS DATE WILL WORK, PENNY WILL LIKE IT, YOU WONT FLUCK IT, OR I’LL RIP MY HEAD OFF AND KILL BOTH OF YOU MYSELF!”

“I-in that order?” 

“YES! NOW GET YOUR SORRY ASS OVER HERE! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO YET BEFORE THE FESTIVAL TOMORROW!”

“Y-yes sir!” 

“Anon, my soda! Oh, dammit, I died again!” Barnaby said with a sad tone, after Mario died for the fifth time in a row while he was playing on Anon’s NES.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, and how about this one?” Said Penny, with a small twirl, holding a simple, pink dress.

“Too girly.” Said Merula, without even looking up.

“Makes you look fat.” Said Tulip, as she flipped over another muggle magazine belonging to Penny.

“Aw, come on guys!” Penny stomped her foot, pouting, and threw the dress on the ever growing pile that was besides Merula, towering her. 

“I really, really need help to choose my dress, I don’t want to look bad in front of Rowan!”

“Geez, woman, you’re just going on a date with Rowan, not with Byron Wagtail. Calm yourself, just pick whatever and go.” Tulip sat down, with a snarky look on her face. “Anyway, we could pen Ismelda to choose something for you, since she likes fashion so much.”

“I don’t think we can reach Ismelda, apparently she’s enjoying the vacation somewhere on the Alps with her family, or something.” Said Merula.

“Oh, really? Didn’t Clumsy went there too?”

“Oh, yeah. Apparently her parents and Ismelda’s parents are friends, or something like that, kinda hard to believe.”

“I hope she doesn’t kill everyone by causing an avalanche or something.”

“You GUYS! I’m serious! Can’t you both help me for a bit?” 

“Alright, alright, Penny! I’ll help.” Tulip then started to tear apart even more of Penny’s wardrobe, much for the future dismay of her house elf. “But I never thought you’d get so worked up over a date, especially one with *yuck* Rowan.”

“Hey! Rowan’s a sweet guy; don’t talk about him like that!” Penny’s cheeks looked like they were about to burst, by how much she was pouting.

“I’m just saying, you date will be on that oh so boring Merlin Festival. Isn’t that for kids?

“Yes, but I’m sure it will be fun! And I it’s been years since I went to the festival, I really think its charming that he wants to spend time with me there!”

“And besides” Ignoring Penny’s passionate comment about Rowan, Tulip continues “I just thought that you were more of an Anon girl, or something like that.” And as she said those words smugly, Merula suddenly perked up, looking at Tulip straight in her eyes.  
“Eh, did I strike a nerve, Merula?”

“N-no! Of course not, I just don’t want to be reminded of that guy while I’m enjoying my vacation, that’s all!”

“Suuuure. ‘nyway, let’s look for a good dress for ya, Penny. You need to look dashing for your sweet prince, after all.” She said, with a snort.

“Yes, lets!” Penny, suddenly invigorated (and ignoring Tulip’s sarcastic comments), started to tear apart her seemingly infinite collection of clothes, with Tulip’s help, while Merula sulked and mumbled on her corner.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright Rowan, this is it! The grand day, you can’t do anything wrong today!” He thought to himself, while he sat, slightly exasperated, on an ornate wooden bench, created for the Merlin’s Festival.

He arrived there 30 minutes earlier, as per Anon’s suggestion. When he arrived at the location, a slightly isolated forest, via portkey, he felt the sudden weight of reality once again, with all of his doubts pilling up. Without Anon to hold him up, he felt lost (and a little relived, since he was still acting like a madman since yesterday).

As the minutes passed, Rowan got more and more nervous. The time for the date had finally come, but no sight of Penny appeared before him. 

One minute passed, he started to bite his nails.

Two minutes passed, he adjusted the collar of his shirt (a simple one, picked by Anon, and on his words “A 100 times better than that stupid, over the top dress-suit-thing that was popular over 300 years ago that you wanted to use, Rowan”) over and over again.

Three minutes passed, and he wished ever so more that he could just isolate himself with a good book, or any book for that matter, as the sounds of the children running and the toys and attractions of the festival blurred and made an absolute cacophony on his head. He wondered if that was how Anon felt over the last few days while they were planning the date.

Suddenly, a delicate hand was placed on his shoulder, making him jump significantly, and scaring the girl that was now beside him.

A simple look into Penny was enough to make all of his fears go away, and make his heart flutter ever so more. She looked dashing, absolute beautiful, with a simple, white sundress with flowery details on the skirt. Her hair was done in her characteristic double braids on the side, with just a tiny bit of make up on her face, to accentuate her already beautiful features. 

He sincerely felt like the luckiest man on earth at that moment.

“O-oh! Sorry Rowan, did I scare you? Was I too late?” She said, genuine worry on her voice.

He looked on his pocket watch. 3:34 PM, four minutes late (more than enough to throw him into an escalating day-dream, or day-nightmare, of crippling self doubt).

“Nope, just in time, Penny. Shall we go, then?” He said, still gawking at the beauty of a girl in front of him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Besides his worries, the date actually went incredibly well.

Rowan was pleasantly surprised to see how talented Penny was in all of the simple festival games. She was especially talented in the Wack-a-Mordred, where the player has to use a toy replica of Excalibur to destroy a knight that (really) wants to kill you. On the quiz games they were on par most of the times, with Rowan’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Arthurian legends and other related material giving him an edge in a few of them. 

After a few exiting turns in the magical Ferris wheel (which consisted of a bunch of seemingly normal cabins that could, and usually did, flail around much to the occupants amusement and/or suffering), they both decided to take a rest and get something to eat.

“One strawberry ice cream cone and one Chocolate mint double cone, please.” Said Rowan, as he nervously glanced backwards, just to be sure that Penny was still there. She was, and noticing him looking at her she gave him a warm smile while she waved her hand.

“On a date, sonny?” Said the bearded old man, as he gave him the ice cream that he requested.

“Uh? Me? U-uh, yeah, I am.” He said, paying him.

“With that lassie ov’ there?” He said motioning towards Penny with his eyes.

“Y-yep. What of it?”

“Ha, no need t’be so nervous, boy! I’m just asking. And between you and me, ya got quite the good one with ya, eh?”

“H-hehe, yeah, I guess…”

“Go get with her then, sport! She’s waiting for ye.” He gave him an encouraging push on his back (which almost made him fall to the ground).

“S-sure! Thank you.” He said.

“Heya, Rowan!” Penny said, as he gave her the chocolate mint cone.

“Heya, Penny. Are you having fun?”

“I sure am! I know I said this before, but thanks for taking me on this date Rowan.” As she said that, his heart sunk and went back up a few times on his chest, all thanks to that dammed, beautiful smile of hers.

“Y-you’re…welcome…I’m really enjoying it too.” He then took a nibble of his own ice cream, just to distract himself of the beauty besides him.

“Hey, isn’t this ice cream kind of big?” She said to him, as she looked at their respective ice cream cones who looked truly bigger than usual. “Did you ask him for a bigger order, Rowan.”

“Uh, I-“ He then looked towards the ice cream stand, and the old man there just gave him a thumbs up and a big smile back. “Actually, yeah. I wanted to surprise you a bit.”

“Oh! Y-you didn’t have to, especially since you paid for them and all that…”

“Hey. My threat, Penny. I just wanted to do something nice for my date, that’s all.”

“O-oh. Alright. Thanks, Rowan.” She blushed slightly, another warm smile on her face (and another time where Rowan’s heart sunk and went up).

After they finished their cold threats, Rowan noticed a suspicious patch of hair among the crowd, one that looked weirdly similar to Anon’s. At the same time, Penny noticed another patch of hair, on the opposite direction, that looked suspiciously like Merula’s characteristic brown-with-an-orange-streak one. Thinking nothing of it, the couple went away, to enjoy their time on the festival.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, already at night time, after enjoying an open air play of how Merlin guided an considerably stupid version of Arthur towards their goal for the holy grail (much for Rowan’s dismay, thanks to what he dubbed as an “obvious display of historical inaccuracy”) the couple sat beside each other, on top of a hill together with dozens of other families, as they watched a display of magical fireworks on the sky, retelling once again the Arthurian legend.

Rowan felt truly happy. He managed to go on a date with Penny, and thanks to Anon’s guidance (bits of his constant ramblings, “DON’T KISS HER RIGHT AWAY, YOU GIANT OAF”; “FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN’S TROUSERS DON’T YOU DARE ASK HER FOR MONEY”; “I’LL BEAT YOU UP IF YOU DO SOMETHING BAD I SWEAR ON ME MUM” flashed on his mind throughout the day) he actually made it work!

As they sat there, besides each other, Rowan felt that same delicate hand that startled him earlier that day gently touching his own. He looked towards Penny, and the image would be forever burned in his memory. She looked at him with truly passionate eyes, eyes that he never even thought that would look towards him like that. He felt even more conscious of her thanks to that.

“Y-you’ll make me blush if you keep looking at me like that.” She said, averting her gaze for a bit.

“O-oh, um, sorry…” He said, averting his own gaze.

They sat beside each other like that for a few more minutes, their hands now intertwined, with an occasional squeeze by either of them. As the minutes went by, Penny finally broke the silence, her eyes still looking towards the fireworks in the sky:

“You know, Rowan. I really like you.”

“Y-you do?” He said, slightly surprised, much for Penny’s amusement.

“Ha, you really thought that I would go on a date with you if I didn’t? Come on.” She said, with a playful smirk, moving her body slightly closer to his.

“Oh, uh, um, I mean…. I really like you too, Penny.” 

“Oh, really? I guess I’d never know if you didn’t tell me.” She raised one eyebrow, saying it in a teasing way.

“O-oh, come on, did I really make it that obvious?”

“Oh boy, yes you did. I actually know that since what, our third year?” 

“Oh dear Merlin, I want to die.” He covered his face with his hand, the embarrassment coming from him almost creating waves towards her.

She giggled a bit, and suddenly hugged him from the side. 

“Well, I made it less obvious, but I’ve been liking you for a few years already, too.”

“Y-you did?!”

“Mmmmaybe.”

“Oh, come on, don’t tease me like that!” He said, finally hugging her back, giggling himself.

They went for a few more minutes like this, just enjoying the company of one another in their embrace. Rowan truly never felt so happy.  
“Why do you like me, Penny?” He said, making her look a bit nervous towards him.

“Well.” She hugged him with a bit more force. “I don’t think there’s a specific reason, really. You just always seemed so, I dunno, reliable, fun to be around. Also, you’re a lot less impulsive than Anon, a lot less dumb than Barnaby, a lot less cowardly than Ben…”

“Hey, then you choose me just by elimination?”

“Mmmmmaybe.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Haha, of course not, silly.” She then gave him a peck on his cheek, which he felt burning on his face. “I like you because you’re you, Rowan.”

“And I love you, Penny. I really do.”

It was her turn to feel her cheeks burning. 

“And I love you too, Rowan.”

They both went for a kiss at the same time, bonking their heads in the process. As they laughed it off and went for an actual, passionate kiss, they didn’t even notice, a few meters down from their spot, another couple sitting beside each other. The black haired boy and his brown-and-orange haired companion went through the evening together, seemingly forgetting that went to that festival not to enjoy it together, but to make sure that those two other lovebirds, their best friends, didn’t embarrass themselves with the person they loved.


End file.
